Birse Brae, Birsemore

Birse Brae is a villa dating from 1894, built for a granite merchant, A Wright. It is a single-storey building with an attic, originally comprising four bays. The north elevation is constructed of rough-faced coursed grey and pink granite with finely finished dressings, while the remaining elevations utilize tooled pink coursed granite rubble with finely finished margins. A battered base course and finely finished pink dividing band courses are present on the north elevation, along with overhanging eaves supported by finely finished grey granite brackets.

The north (principal) elevation is asymmetrical. A recessed panelled timber door is flanked to the left and right by glazed panels, with a highly polished granite column supporting the overhang; a cast-iron bell-pull is situated to the right of the column. A tripartite window is set within a slightly recessed bay to the outer right. A gableted 3-light canted window extends through the ground and attic floors of the penultimate bay to the left, culminating in a decorative floreate finial at the apex. A tripartite window is located in the bay to the outer left. Polished grey and pink granite kerbstones define the base course, interspersed with sphere-capped dividing blocks.

The west elevation is near-symmetrical and features a single bay. The roof slopes downwards over a bipartite window at the centre of the ground floor, with a segmental-arched tripartite dormer to the attic above. A timber panelled gablehead sits above the dormer.

The south elevation is asymmetrical, with seven bays. Regular fenestration is seen in the three central bays. The two bays to the left are obscured by a modern lean-to conservatory, while the two bays to the right are slightly recessed and feature a bipartite window flanked to the right by a boarded timber door, reached by stone steps.

The east elevation is also asymmetrical, comprising two bays. The bay to the left is advanced and contains a segmental-arched tripartite dormer to the attic, with a panelled gablehead above, topped with a cast-iron finial bearing the initials "AW". A window is present on the right return; the recessed bay to the right is blank.

Predominantly 2-pane timber sash and case windows are found throughout. The roof is covered in grey slate and features decorative cast-iron cresting. Coped granite stacks rise at the gableheads and along the roof slope, each topped with circular cans.

The interior was not inspected in 1999.

Ancillary structures and boundary walls consist of granite rubble boundary walls with rubble coping. A lean-to ancillary structure is built into the wall to the southeast, featuring two boarded timber doors. A gateway is located in the centre of the south wall. A single-storey, rectangular-plan ancillary structure is situated to the southwest of the main house, constructed of harl-pointed granite rubble. A lean-to projects from the centre of the east elevation of the ancillary structure, with boarded timber doors and a window to the left. Two gabled bays extend to the outer left and right, with a garage on the right incorporating a boarded timber door flanked to the left by a window. The ancillary structure is roofed in grey slate with decorative ironwork finials.